Home Office

Asylum: Children

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many offers to receive vulnerable unaccompanied childrenwho are currently in Europe have been receivedin (1) 2019,and (2) 2020, by the Home Office from (a) local authorities, (b)care and fostering agencies, and (c) private individuals.

baroness williams of trafford: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 27 March 2020.The correct answer should have been:

The Home Office works closely with local authorities and third sector partners in order to identify suitable placements for unaccompanied children for transfer to the UK from Europe under our existing obligations.The Government remains fully committed to relocating the specified number of 480 unaccompanied children to the UK under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 (the Dubs Amendment) as soon as possible. We will publish a full data set on the transfers once we have fulfilled this commitment.Over 220 children were transferred to the UK under section 67 when the Calais camp was cleared in late 2016. Since then we have been making further progress with Greece and the other participating states, to transfer more eligible children to move closer to achieving this commitmentThe Home Office works closely with local authorities and third sector partners in order to identify suitable placements for unaccompanied children for transfer to the UK from Europe under our existing obligations. The Home Office also has regular engagement with a range of third sector partners.The Government remains fully committed to relocating the specified number of 480 unaccompanied children to the UK under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 (the Dubs Amendment) as soon as possible. We will publish a full data set on the transfers once we have fulfilled this commitment.Over 220 children were transferred to the UK under section 67 when the Calais camp was cleared in late 2016. Since then we have been making further progress with Greece and the other participating states, to transfer more eligible children to move closer to achieving this commitment

baroness williams of trafford: The Home Office works closely with local authorities and third sector partners in order to identify suitable placements for unaccompanied children for transfer to the UK from Europe under our existing obligations.The Government remains fully committed to relocating the specified number of 480 unaccompanied children to the UK under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 (the Dubs Amendment) as soon as possible. We will publish a full data set on the transfers once we have fulfilled this commitment.Over 220 children were transferred to the UK under section 67 when the Calais camp was cleared in late 2016. Since then we have been making further progress with Greece and the other participating states, to transfer more eligible children to move closer to achieving this commitmentThe Home Office works closely with local authorities and third sector partners in order to identify suitable placements for unaccompanied children for transfer to the UK from Europe under our existing obligations. The Home Office also has regular engagement with a range of third sector partners.The Government remains fully committed to relocating the specified number of 480 unaccompanied children to the UK under section 67 of the Immigration Act 2016 (the Dubs Amendment) as soon as possible. We will publish a full data set on the transfers once we have fulfilled this commitment.Over 220 children were transferred to the UK under section 67 when the Calais camp was cleared in late 2016. Since then we have been making further progress with Greece and the other participating states, to transfer more eligible children to move closer to achieving this commitment

Detention Centres: Coronavirus

the lord bishop of london: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to provide healthcare and support services to people in immigration removal centres during the COVID-19 pandemic.

baroness williams of trafford: The Home Office continues to follow national guidance issued by Public Health England (PHE), Health Protection Scotland and the National Health Service. In addition, all immigration removal centres have communicable disease contingency plans, based on PHE advice. Measures such as protective isolation and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) are being used to minimise the risk of COVID-19 spreading to vulnerable groups in immigration removal centres.Basic hygiene is a key part of tackling COVID-19. Handwashing facilities are available in all immigration removal centres and we are working closely with suppliers to ensure adequate supply of soap and cleaning materials.All immigration removal centres have dedicated health facilities run by doctors and nurses which are managed by the NHS or appropriate providers.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Temporary Accommodation: Coronavirus

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much accommodation they have offered to key workers who want to reduce the risk of giving COVID-19 to their families.

baroness barran: We are working closely with accommodation providers to explore ways in which they can support key workers. My Department is in regular contact with the sector and other Departments to try and help match supply with the demand. We have been proud to see accommodation providers uniting to play their part in COVID-19 response efforts.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Supermarkets: Sunday Trading

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to relax temporarily Sunday trading hours to prevent overcrowding and allow key workers to purchase shoppingat supermarkets.

lord callanan: Supermarkets have developed a range of approaches to accommodate key workers and address overcrowding, within the existing statutory framework. The Government is also temporarily relaxing competition law to allow the retailers to share information and collaborate over the management of supplies and opening hours. The Government is speaking to retailers regularly to ensure supply to key workers and others is maintained.

Department of Health and Social Care

Coronavirus: Research

lord birt: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they plan to (1) catalogue, and (2) assess, the global scientific effort to (a) create a vaccine,and (b) improve therapeutics and testing, to reduce the impact of COVID-19;and how they intend to ensure that any transformational breakthroughs that emerge are rolled out rapidly.

lord bethell: Development of COVID-19 vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics is an international effort. The World Health Organization (WHO), through its R&D Blueprint team, is leading the coordination and monitoring of global research and development, including on vaccine efforts. The United Kingdom is fully supportive of this leadership and the convening role of the WHO. We will both feed-in UK expertise and use the monitoring tools that the WHO produces.

Coronavirus: Research

baroness ritchie of downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the report by the Imperial College COVID-19 response teamImpact of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) to reduce COVID-19 mortality and healthcare demand, published on 16 March.

lord bethell: The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) is responsible for ensuring that timely and coordinated scientific advice is made available to decision-makers, to support United Kingdom cross-Government decisions.In fulfilling this role, SAGE considers a wide range scientific evidence. SAGE is supported in this role by a sub group (Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling, SPI-M) that consists of members from Public Health England and experts from several academic research groups at UK universities.The report Impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) to reduce COVID-19 mortality and healthcare demand, published on 16 March, is an important strand of the scientific evidence informing the Government’s response to the COVID-19 emergency.

Coronavirus: Screening

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to utilise artificial intelligence to test for COVID-19.

lord bethell: The Government is working closely with Oxford University’s Big Data Institute to develop a tracing app, currently in development by NHSX for the Department, which may help collect data to help combat the COVID-19 outbreak.

Coronavirus: Screening

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to testkey workers for COVID-19 regularly.

lord bethell: Testing is a crucial part of the United Kingdom’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and we are working on multiple fronts to deliver additional testing capacity into the system.We are working hard to ensure we can adequately test for and respond to COVID-19. As part of this, we prioritise testing to the most acutely ill and vulnerable patients in hospitals and most recently, hospital National Health Service workers who are symptomatic.As additional testing capacity increases, the next priority group will be wider NHS staff and other key workers.

Treasury

Immigrants: Coronavirus

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that residents without recourse to public funds will have financial protection during the COVID-19pandemic.

lord agnew of oulton: The government has introduced a range of measures to provide financial protection for those affected by Covid-19, including those with no recourse to public funds (NRPF). Employers will be able to apply for grants under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for workers on the PAYE system. The government has also extended Statutory Sick Pay to be payable from Day 1 rather than Day 4 and made Contributory Employment and Support Allowance available from the first day of sickness rather than the eighth, subject to other eligibility criteria. For those who file Self-Assessment returns, the government has deferred Income Tax Self-Assessment payments from July 2020 to January 2021. In addition, the government has announced that banks and building societies will offer a three-month ‘mortgage holiday’ for borrowers in financial difficulty, including landlords with tenants in financial difficulty, as a result of Covid-19. Alongside this, the government has legislated to prohibit tenant evictions for three months.

Business: Coronavirus

viscount trenchard: To ask Her Majesty's Government whetherall festival businesses whose financial viability have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic will be eligible to receive loans equal to the amount of financial damage they have suffered as a direct result of the pandemic; and whether any such loans will require owners or directors of these businesses to pledge their personal assets.

lord agnew of oulton: The government has announced a significant package of financial support for all businesses and organisations, including through the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme. Details of this package are available at: www.businesssupport.gov.uk. The government has taken new legal powers in the COVID-19 Bill, enabling it to offer whatever further financial support it thinks necessary to support businesses.

Stocks and Shares

lord moynihan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to ensure that financial service companies who sell funds, shares and related products to retail investors in the UK return the cash from sales transactions to the client in a timely manner.

lord agnew of oulton: The government is committed to ensuring that the UK has a robust framework for regulating financial services and that consumers are treated fairly. Financial services firms are required to treat customers fairly under rules set by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and the FCA is responsible for overseeing the conduct standards of financial services firms. There are a range of FCA rules governing the timeliness of payments to consumers in relation to client money and investments. Where investments are held in funds, FCA rules specify that an authorised fund manager must pay the proceeds of a redemption to the registered holder of the fund units within four business days. Where firms hold client assets, in general FCA rules require firms to pay money to clients within one business day after it becomes due and payable. Where an investor holds fund units through a regulated platform provider, their interactions are determined by the terms and conditions of the platform provider’s client agreement with the investor. However, regulated platform providers are subject to FCA rules on treating customers fairly with regard to these terms and conditions, and any money held under the client money rules would be paid to the client within one business day as set out above. It would not be possible for an investor to withdraw their assets from a fund if the fund has suspended dealing. FCA rules permit suspensions, which may last only for as long as is necessary to protect the interests of the investors in the fund. Suspensions can be a necessary safety feature which protects investors where the value of a fund’s assets cannot be known with sufficient certainty or where the fund would otherwise have to make sales at distressed market prices to service withdrawals.

Credit Reference Agencies

lord truscott: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the operation of UK credit scoring agencies; and (2) reports that such agencies have closed their telephone helplines but continue to blacklist customers whilst their automated systemsare not functioning effectively.

lord agnew of oulton: The Government recognises that the outbreak of COVID-19 may lead to consumers facing financial difficulty and uncertainty. The Government is working closely with industry, including credit reference agencies (CRAs) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) – the regulator responsible for CRAs – to ensure that consumers are not treated unfairly as a result of this crisis. Some CRAs have experienced operational difficulties with respect to its telephone helplines due to a reduction in call centre capacity. CRAs’ online portals are available for customers to make any inquiries while these issues are being resolved.